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Henderson County's first day of school

Sugarloaf Elementary starts year with new principal

Mikey Sharp, left, and Mason McCracken, both fourth-graders at Sugarloaf Elementary, eat breakfast before the first day of school on Monday. Some area schools received a grant for a universal breakfast program to feed all the students each morning for the school year.

Mike Dirks / Times-News

By NANCY TANKERTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 11:47 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, August 26, 2013 at 11:47 a.m.

“I read 208 books over the summer!” exclaimed Gracen Thomas, who emerged from the fog Monday morning to start first grade at Sugarloaf Elementary School in Hendersonville.

Mikey Sharp, left, and Mason McCracken, both fourth-graders at Sugarloaf Elementary, eat breakfast before the first day of school on Monday. Some area schools received a grant for a universal breakfast program to feed all the students each morning for the school year.

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Next to him stood his little sister, Kailey Pace, ready to begin the new school year as a kindergartner.

“I want to use the computer,” she said. “And I want to learn how to read with my teacher, Miss (Jennifer) Goode.”

Sugarloaf and other Henderson County schools on the traditional calendar started the new school year Monday. Principals at 20 schools stood ready to greet more than 12,000 students. “We are off to a great start,” declared an enthusiastic Peggy Marshall, who is beginning her first year as principal at Sugarloaf. For the past two years, she has been the assistant principal at Rugby Middle.

“I live on Sugarloaf Road, so I feel like I'm getting back to my community,” she said.

Marshall is excited to implement a new program at the school this year, “The Leader in Me.” Based on Sean Covey's book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” the program is designed to establish “a culture of leadership” in schools.

“We're empowering our students to be leaders this year in the classroom, in school and in the community,” Marshall said. The program includes establishing student leadership clubs and having students serve as school greeters and lead assemblies and other school events.

As part of the program, fifth-graders are responsible for distributing “universal breakfast” items to individual classrooms in the morning. As the students carried milk, juice and pastries to the classrooms, Marshall explained that the start of the school day was moved from 8:10 a.m. to 8 a.m. to provide 30 minutes of “Mountain Lion time,” when students can eat and talk with each other and their teachers.

With a total enrollment of 380 students, Marshall said she was confident it was “going to be a good year.

“We have a special group of fifth-graders this year. They're the first group that has been with us since kindergarten,” she said, adding that the school opened six years ago.

One of those fifth graders is Colin Suttles. “I missed the school work a little bit over the summer,” he said. “Math and science seem like they're going to be fun — and reading, too. Hanging out with my friends will be the most fun.”

Dorian Garcia, who arrived at Sugarloaf to start third grade, said he was excited to see his friends again and thought the day was going to be fun. “I'm ready to have a lot of fun with my friends and my teacher, Miss (Julie) Holbert,” he said.

He was also eager to see his classroom pet, a tarantula named Rosie. The classroom also contains a leopard gekco named Leo.

Alexis Coral said she was looking forward to learning math in her fourth-grade classroom. “Math can be fun sometimes,” she said. “Our teacher said we're going to be working on the multiplication tables.”

“I'm looking forward to getting to do new projects and learn new things, especially in math,” said Dominick Gregory as he strode toward his fifth-grade class.

As the last of the children arrived, Marshall reflected on how the first morning of school progressed.

“We had a few late buses this morning, but that's not going to faze us,” she said. “The kids are excited, and the teachers are excited and so am I.”

<p>“I read 208 books over the summer!” exclaimed Gracen Thomas, who emerged from the fog Monday morning to start first grade at Sugarloaf Elementary School in Hendersonville. </p><p>Next to him stood his little sister, Kailey Pace, ready to begin the new school year as a kindergartner.</p><p>“I want to use the computer,” she said. “And I want to learn how to read with my teacher, Miss (Jennifer) Goode.”</p><p>Sugarloaf and other Henderson County schools on the traditional calendar started the new school year Monday. Principals at 20 schools stood ready to greet more than 12,000 students. “We are off to a great start,” declared an enthusiastic Peggy Marshall, who is beginning her first year as principal at Sugarloaf. For the past two years, she has been the assistant principal at Rugby Middle. </p><p>“I live on Sugarloaf Road, so I feel like I'm getting back to my community,” she said. </p><p>Marshall is excited to implement a new program at the school this year, “The Leader in Me.” Based on Sean Covey's book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” the program is designed to establish “a culture of leadership” in schools. </p><p>“We're empowering our students to be leaders this year in the classroom, in school and in the community,” Marshall said. The program includes establishing student leadership clubs and having students serve as school greeters and lead assemblies and other school events. </p><p>As part of the program, fifth-graders are responsible for distributing “universal breakfast” items to individual classrooms in the morning. As the students carried milk, juice and pastries to the classrooms, Marshall explained that the start of the school day was moved from 8:10 a.m. to 8 a.m. to provide 30 minutes of “Mountain Lion time,” when students can eat and talk with each other and their teachers. </p><p>With a total enrollment of 380 students, Marshall said she was confident it was “going to be a good year. </p><p>“We have a special group of fifth-graders this year. They're the first group that has been with us since kindergarten,” she said, adding that the school opened six years ago. </p><p>One of those fifth graders is Colin Suttles. “I missed the school work a little bit over the summer,” he said. “Math and science seem like they're going to be fun — and reading, too. Hanging out with my friends will be the most fun.”</p><p>Dorian Garcia, who arrived at Sugarloaf to start third grade, said he was excited to see his friends again and thought the day was going to be fun. “I'm ready to have a lot of fun with my friends and my teacher, Miss (Julie) Holbert,” he said. </p><p>He was also eager to see his classroom pet, a tarantula named Rosie. The classroom also contains a leopard gekco named Leo.</p><p>Alexis Coral said she was looking forward to learning math in her fourth-grade classroom. “Math can be fun sometimes,” she said. “Our teacher said we're going to be working on the multiplication tables.” </p><p>“I'm looking forward to getting to do new projects and learn new things, especially in math,” said Dominick Gregory as he strode toward his fifth-grade class.</p><p>As the last of the children arrived, Marshall reflected on how the first morning of school progressed. </p><p>“We had a few late buses this morning, but that's not going to faze us,” she said. “The kids are excited, and the teachers are excited and so am I.”</p><p>Reach Tanker at 828-694-7871 or nancy.tanker@blueridgenow.com.</p>